Esk Valley Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2022

Esk Valley Hawke's Bay Chardonnay 2022French oak Peach Grilled nuts Medium bodied "Aromas of place and time, white and yellow fleshed fruits, spice and grapefruit. Theres scents of river stones and clay, complex and new. Lovely weight and textures with a freshness and energy, fine tannins and acidity. Perfectly balanced with freshness form acidity and core flavours that remain persistent adding length and panache. Best drinking from 2023 through 2029+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier,

• French oak
• Peach
• Grilled nuts
• Medium bodied

"Aromas of place and time, white and yellow fleshed fruits, spice and grapefruit. There’s scents of river stones and clay, complex and new. Lovely weight and textures with a freshness and energy, fine tannins and acidity. Perfectly balanced with freshness form acidity and core flavours that remain persistent adding length and panache. Best drinking from 2023 through 2029+" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, May 2023

"Youthfully charming and inviting, the bouquet shows white flesh stone fruit, grapefruit, nougat and lemon peel aromas, followed by a beautifully rounded palate delivering juicy fruit flavours with smooth texture and bright acidity. Well composed and attractive drinking. At its best: now to 2026" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Apr 2023

"Refreshing, tangy chardonnay with grapefruit, white peach and nutty yeast lees flavours. Smooth-textured wine showing good purity and fresh fruit characters. Good varietal definition. Offers value at this price" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Jan 2023

This is a medium bodied and elegant Hawkes Bay Chardonnay. Its flavour profile is a mix of peach, grilled nuts, grapefruit, and very subtle oak spice. It is both complex and delicious.

The fruit for this wine was sourced from vineyards planted in three of Hawkes Bay’s many sub regions. Bay View fruit provides ripe stonefruit characters while our vineyard sites inland on cooler river terraces above the Ngaruroro River bring acidity and flinty grapefruit notes. Shoot thinning, leaf plucking and bunch thinning are all practised in the pursuit of quality.

The individual vineyard parcels were harvested separately and fermented in both tank (55%) and French oak barriques. A small percentage was allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation to soften the wine and add richness and complexity. The finished wines were left on their yeast lees with regular stirring until blending.

Food Pairing: Ideally suited to rich seafood dishes or white meats such as pork or chicken, but equally delicious as an aperitif or with hard cheeses.